"Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them."
Luke 5:17 (NKJV)
What would you do if you walked into a room that was dark but you did not turn on the light? Would you say that there was something wrong with the light bulb or that maybe the electric company was not doing its job? Or would you realize that you needed to do something to take advantage of what was already provided through the electric company and the light bulb and so you needed to turn on the light? This example almost sounds ridiculous but it is the same thing that is happening with many people, including Christians, all over the world today.
In Luke 5 we see Jesus teaching a group of people and we are told that the power of the Lord was present. But the only person in the story who benefited from the power of God was the man who was let down through the roof by his friends, this man was healed. Just coming into contact with God will not necessarily change things; we have a part to play in it. Some people have said that the Pharisees and other teachers were religious hypocrites and that is why they did not receive anything, but there is another similar story like this about Israel, God's people, in the Old Testament.
In 1 Samuel 4 we see Israel preparing for battle and the priests bring the Ark of the Covenant, which was symbolic of the presence of God. The people shouted because God was with them, but they were still defeated! Why was it that although God was there in both situations almost no one benefited? The problem was not that God needed to do something, but God needed someone else to do something. In every situation we need to see what God is directing us to do and not just wait for Him to do something. God has done His part to provide for us by sending Jesus, have we done our part?
Luke 5:17 (NKJV)
What would you do if you walked into a room that was dark but you did not turn on the light? Would you say that there was something wrong with the light bulb or that maybe the electric company was not doing its job? Or would you realize that you needed to do something to take advantage of what was already provided through the electric company and the light bulb and so you needed to turn on the light? This example almost sounds ridiculous but it is the same thing that is happening with many people, including Christians, all over the world today.
In Luke 5 we see Jesus teaching a group of people and we are told that the power of the Lord was present. But the only person in the story who benefited from the power of God was the man who was let down through the roof by his friends, this man was healed. Just coming into contact with God will not necessarily change things; we have a part to play in it. Some people have said that the Pharisees and other teachers were religious hypocrites and that is why they did not receive anything, but there is another similar story like this about Israel, God's people, in the Old Testament.
In 1 Samuel 4 we see Israel preparing for battle and the priests bring the Ark of the Covenant, which was symbolic of the presence of God. The people shouted because God was with them, but they were still defeated! Why was it that although God was there in both situations almost no one benefited? The problem was not that God needed to do something, but God needed someone else to do something. In every situation we need to see what God is directing us to do and not just wait for Him to do something. God has done His part to provide for us by sending Jesus, have we done our part?
No comments:
Post a Comment